Obadiah: Jacob I Love, Esau Have I Hated | Sermon 09/15/2024

All right, everybody, you may be seated. Okay.

So as you know, Pastor Wade is indeed on his sabbatical. He is in Idaho right now, probably eating potatoes because I think that's what people do in Idaho.

Probably having wonderful french fries, mashed potatoes, whatever you can think of with potatoes. I think Pastor Wade is having it now.

And the reason why I say that is because I know he's probably listening to the stream. But anyways, guys, if he is on your heart or the

Orsinis, pray for them so that they can have this peaceful time during their sabbatical, that the

Lord will be with them and fill them up to come back ready again to just serve the church body.

And it's interesting because what I had planned to do is preach two sermons on prayer. But Pastor Wade came to me just like he did last year too.

And he was like, how about you preach through Obadiah? It's just, it's not even a chapter, it's just 21 verses. I don't know if it would be okay to say a chapter.

It's like going through Philemon, just 21 verses here. How about you go through that? You can do two sermons on it.

And I was like, you know what? That's a wonderful idea. I've never done much research on the minor prophet

Obadiah. And I'm extremely thankful for his suggestion. This has been such a blessing for me to go through.

We're gonna go through the first 14 verses today. And I pray that the

Lord will help you see the beauty in this small book that I was seeing throughout my research of the week.

It's such a powerful, powerful book. It's the shortest book in the Old Testament, but it is not without the

Holy Spirit who divinely inspired these words through the prophet Obadiah. So I want you guys right now to picture in your minds if you can, two mountain ranges.

On the pinnacle of each range sits a kingdom. One is nestled within the range of Judea, a city built in the midst of the peaks in which the temple built by Solomon is settled.

It is where the glory of the Lord of hosts dwells actively within the temple. This is

Jerusalem, the capital city of the children of Jacob, God's chosen dwelling place with the people of his love.

This is Zion with El Shaddai, the God of the mountain, who called Israel to be what?

The light to all nations. Now zoom out in your mind in this picture, please, like a

Google Earth type of view. There is another mountain range, one about 100 miles southeast of Zion.

Starting from the south point of the Dead Sea and stretching to the Gulf of Aqaba, which flows into the

Red Sea. This range is called Seir. And here within the mountains lies a kingdom chiseled out of the red sandstone walls.

The people of this kingdom dwell in caves. Like the dwarves in the mines of Moria, they have built a kingdom within the mountains.

And just as the dwarf kings in Tolkien's epic worshipped the Arkenstone, we find that the people of Edom also had a treasure.

For the sake of the illustration, the dwarven kings worshipped the heart of the mountain and their pride set them apart from the nations.

In Edom, likewise, the descendants of Esau worshipped their hearts of stone within the mountain and over time, jealousy over the house of Israel left a hollow hole inside the blessing of Jacob.

And pride sweeped in for over almost a millennia and they were consumed with hatred for their brothers.

So Jacob and Esau are like the story of Cain and Abel, yet unalike in outcome.

Though Cain killed Abel and Edom helped destroy Jerusalem, a remnant remained in which the

Messiah was born and Edom, they met their eventual demise while the house of God transferred from the temple and into the hearts of men.

With the Savior, Jesus Christ, who defeated death reigning on a throne not built by human hands.

This is the heart of the vision of Obadiah and the warning to Edom remains true today for every nation on the planet.

Jesus Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is ruling and reigning today in the midst of his enemies while all things are being placed under his feet.

So we would be wise to heed the call of Obadiah. So to understand

God's call to Edom through Obadiah, we must comprehend that this is a story in which pride devoured the hearts of men.

A story in which we are shown the rotten fruit that was gathered from generations of hereditary hatred that climaxed when the kingdom of Judah was at its weakest point by its destruction of Babylon, how they were taken advantage of by Edom who joined forces with Babylon, who handed over their own brothers over to exile, ones that they should have helped.

In other words, this is the story of two kingdoms, of two brothers and their progeny. But even more, this story is but a shadow of the kingdom of God and the world in which

Christ again ruled in the midst of his enemies. The soon coming of the great and awesome day of the

Lord is prophesied in Obadiah and Edom is but a shadow of the nations that rage and plot in vain against the

Lord and his anointed. The house of Jacob is also but a shadow for the kingdom of God as it expands on earth.

So as we explore Obadiah over the next two weeks, understand that the word of God still rings true today.

Pride comes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. For there is a way that seems right unto a man, but the ends thereof are the ways of death.

Inasmuch, we are told by prophet Malachi and echoed by Paul in Romans chapter nine,

Jacob I loved, but Esau have I hated, which is the title of the sermon today.

So there are people who belong to God. We understand that the meek will inherit the earth and there are people whom

God calls vessels of wrath and whom the glory of the Lord will be made known through in the judgment of such people.

It was the prophet Obadiah among eight others that foretold the destruction of Edom. It was also

Obadiah who heeded these words to all of the nations of earth. Herein are the words of the

Lord from the prophet Obadiah. Listen. The vision of Obadiah, thus says the

Lord God concerning Edom. We have heard a report from the Lord and a messenger has been sent among the nations.

Rise up, let us rise against her for battle. Behold, I will make you small among the nations.

You shall be utterly despised. The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rock in your lofty dwelling, who say in your heart, who will bring me down to the ground?

Though you soar aloft like the eagle, though your nest is set among the stars, from there

I will bring you down, declares the Lord. If thieves came to you, if plunderers came by night, how you have been destroyed.

Would they not steal only enough for themselves? If great gatherers came to you, would they not leave gleanings?

How Esau has been pillaged, his treasures sought out. All your allies have driven you to your border.

Those at peace with you have deceived you. They have prevailed against you. Those who eat your bread have set a trap beneath you.

You have no understanding. Will I not on that day, declares the

Lord, destroy the wise men out of Edom in any understanding out of Mount Esau? And your mighty men shall be dismayed,

O temen, so that every man from Mount Esau will be cut off by slaughter. Because of the violence done to your brother

Jacob, shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off forever. On the day that you stood aloft, on the day that strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them.

But do not gloat over the day of your brother in the day of his misfortune. Do not rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their ruin.

Do not boast in the day of distress. Do not enter the gate of my people in the day of their calamity.

Do not gloat over his disaster in the day of his calamity. Do not loot his wealth in the day of his calamity.

Do not stand at the crossroads to cut off his fugitives. Do not hand over his survivors in the day of distress.

For the day of the Lord is near upon all the nations. As you have done, it shall be done to you. Your deed shall return on your own head.

Continue to verse 15, because it's a good segue into the sermon next week. But before we get into the sermon, guys, let's pray.

Dear Lord, these 21 verses, this small book of the

Bible is so significant, God. And why is that, Lord? We know it's significant because this is the inspired word of God.

It rings true today. The warnings are still relevant. What happened in history,

Lord, we should remember. We should learn from, like Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10, so we don't make the same mistakes,

God. Jesus Christ, today you hold the nations. All are covenanted to you.

And those who disobey you will be crushed like a potsherd, Lord. The judgment is even worse today than it was then, because you have defeated the grave, and the nations,

Lord, are held to your standard. Let us, as a people, Lord, hear your word.

Let our hearts, God, be molded by it. Help me again,

Lord, to get out of the way. Let me decrease and let you increase. We love you,

God, and we praise you today. In Jesus' name, amen.

Starting in verse one, guys. The vision of Obadiah, thus says the Lord God concerning Edom.

We have heard a report from the Lord and a messenger has been sent among the nations. Rise up, let us rise against her for battle.

So the first question we should ask ourselves when we're reading this book is, who in the world is Obadiah?

The truth, as I was doing my studies this week, is no one really knows who Obadiah is.

There's about four different prophets in the Bible in which we know little to nothing about. That's Habakkuk, Haggai, Malachi, and our very own

Obadiah today. But I actually find that fitting for Obadiah because Obadiah literally means servant of Yahweh.

And like a true servant, we do not find his lineage, house, or genealogy in scripture. He is truly a servant of Yahweh, one of humble origin, a man in whom

God chose to record the smallest book in the Old Testament. But again, though his book is rather small, there's a beautiful reality that we should not overlook within this prophecy, which is the soon coming of the great and awesome day of the

Lord. That judgment is a real thing that even we will face one day. There are some ideas about Obadiah.

There's four different Obadiahs mentioned in scripture, but along with the timeframe of the destruction of Jerusalem by the

Babylonians, none of those Obadiahs fit. So the ones that are named in scripture are not the

Obadiah that we're thinking of here today, and Obadiah is actually a common name. But let us digress and develop the context of this book, because it's important to understand when this prophecy was given to Edom, and to do that, we must understand when the book was written.

So it's believed that Obadiah received this vision sometime after 586

BC, when the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and brought the kingdom of Judah into captivity, and before 553

BC, when the Nabateans overthrew the Edomites in the land of Seir. The reason we believe that Obadiah was written after the

Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem is that of internal biblical evidence. It's always wise, when we go to the

Bible to try to figure something out, to use the Bible to interpret the Bible. That is what we mean by internal biblical evidence, and that is why we believe here at Apologia that the book of Revelation was written prior to 70

AD, because of internal biblical evidence. So 2 Kings chapters 25 through 26 detail the

Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar's conquest of Judah in the fall of Jerusalem, the destruction of the temple that was built by Solomon.

And then we had our deacon earlier read Psalm 137, verse 137, which details the destruction as well, but verse seven in Psalm 137 states this.

It says, Remember, O Lord, against the Edomites the day of Jerusalem, how they said, let it bear, lay it bare, lay it bare down to its foundations, referring to the

Edomites during the destruction. They said, lay it bare, lay it bare. And then along with Ezekiel 35, four through six, we see the prophecy concerning the

Edomites. Listen to this, guys. I will lay your cities waste and you shall become a desolation and you shall know that I am the

Lord, because you cherish perpetual enmity and gave over the people of Israel to the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, at the time of their final punishment, therefore, as I live, declares the

Lord, I will prepare you for blood and blood shall pursue you because you did not hate bloodshed, therefore, blood shall pursue you.

So in the language of which God has given this vision to Obadiah, it appears that Obadiah is speaking about something that has already occurred in history, so it would be after the destruction of Jerusalem.

This prophecy speaks in tense of things that have already occurred to Jerusalem and what will then happen in judgment to Edom because of their hand in God's judgment of Jerusalem.

But again, the question we should ask ourselves is, why is Edom so important that God would just wanna utterly lay it to waste?

Why? And what is their relation to Israel that God would specifically denounce them with such intensity?

Well, the history between Israel and Edom is one that dates back millennia, and hence the name of this sermon, we would do well to understand the rocky relationship between Israel and Edom or Jacob and Esau in order to grasp the intensity and meaning of this prophecy of the destruction of Edom.

So let's go back to the story of two kingdoms here. In Genesis 25, if you wanna go there, you can follow along with me.

I'll give you just a minute to get there. We're gonna go through it rather quickly just to develop the context.

In Genesis 25, we find the story of these two kingdoms. Starting in verses 19 through 28, that Abraham's grandson,

Jacob, has two children. Or no, Abraham's grandson, Isaac, has two children with Rebekah, my apologies there, twins.

And in verse 22, it details that even in the womb, the children struggled with one another. During this struggle in the womb,

God delivers an answer to Rebekah as to why she is questioning about this struggle in the womb so she can feel these twins fighting in the womb.

In verse 23, in chapter 25 of Genesis, it states this. This is God's response to Rebekah.

Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided. The one shall be stronger than the other.

The older shall serve the younger. So we find here that God is even setting up.

We have the nation of Jacob and the nation of Esau. And when the time of birth came,

Esau, he came out first and he came out all red and hairy. And it sounds weird saying that as a redheaded individual who's up here.

And then Jacob was holding onto the heel of Esau. And Isaac was 60 years old when

Rebekah gave birth to these twins. And it's noted that Isaac favored Esau, the father favored the older redheaded hairy one that was stronger, and Rebekah, the mother, favored

Jacob. Now Esau, he grew up to be a skilled hunter who fed his father the meat of the field.

That's what the text states. While Jacob is noted as a quiet man who dwelled in tents. Let's read

Genesis 25, 29 through 34. Here's the narrative here. Once when

Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field and he was exhausted. And Esau said to Jacob, let me eat some of that red stew for I'm exhausted.

Of course, Esau would like anything red because he's red, right? Jacob said, sell me your birthright now.

Esau said, I'm about to die. Of what use is a birthright to me? Jacob said, swear to me now.

So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew and he ate and drank and rose up and went his way.

Thus Esau despised his birthright. The birthright blessing, you can find it all throughout the

Old Testament is incredibly important. They're almost prophecies in a sense of blessing that was given to specific individuals.

I recommend when you go through Genesis, read all of these birthright blessings. They are quite beautiful. They're quite beautiful.

So understand Esau in this moment, he sold what would rightfully belong to him because he was the firstborn.

Even if it was by a few seconds, he was the firstborn. And he sold his birthright blessing for a meal.

And what does it show here? It shows that his mind was set on earthly things. He was impulsive.

He was pragmatic. Philippians 3 .19 states this about individuals who are like this.

It says, their end is destruction, their God is their belly, and they glory in their shame with minds set on earthly things.

That's the reality of the heart of Esau when he sold his birthright to Jacob. He wasn't gonna die if he didn't have any food.

He was exaggerating, right? But he wanted that red stew. But did he actually mean it?

Did he mean it when he sold it to Jacob? I mean, he's way stronger than Jacob. I guess he could take it back by force.

But right now, he wanted to fill his belly instead of honor the Lord and his father and just told

Jacob what he wanted to hear in order to get immediate gratification in the flesh to fill the

God of his belly. Now we're gonna go to Genesis 27. And in Genesis 27, we find

Isaac blessing Jacob. For Jacob, along with the help of his mother during the time when

Isaac was getting old in age, Jacob deceives Isaac and receives the birthright blessing that was actually due to Esau.

I'm pretty sure we all understand this story. Genesis 27, 28 through 29 states this about the blessing that Jacob inherited through deceiving

Esau and his father here. But again, remember, God prophesies of this.

Even in the womb, the older shall serve the younger. Listen to this birthright blessing. We're gonna compare the blessing that Jacob receives and the one that Esau receives.

But first, let's listen to the one that Isaac gives Jacob. Verses 28 through 29. May God give you of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth and plenty of grain and wine.

Let people serve you and nations bow down to you. Be Lord over your brothers and may your mother's sons bow down to you.

Cursed be everyone who curses you and blessed be everyone who blesses you.

And now Esau goes to his father after Jacob receives his blessing to go receive the blessing himself.

But he finds that Isaac has already blessed Jacob and he weeped bitterly, begging for something.

He begged his father for something. And this is the blessing that Isaac gave to Esau.

Listen, verses 39 through 40, Genesis 27. Behold, away from the fatness of the earth shall your dwelling be and away from the dew of the heaven on high.

By your sword you shall live and you shall serve your brother. But when you grow restless, you shall break his yoke from your neck.

Can you see the dichotomy between the two blessings? Let's go through it. Jacob, receiving the dew of the heaven and the fatness of the earth and plenty of grain and wine, right?

Going into the promised land. Esau, away from the fatness of the earth shall your dwelling be and away from the dew of heaven on high.

And that could be used also in the form of gleaning from, taking from, getting the leftovers of.

Jacob, people will serve you and nations will bow down to you. You will be Lord over your brothers.

Almost reminds you of even Joseph, right? Esau, you shall live by your sword and you shall serve your brother.

Jacob, blessed will be everyone who blesses you and cursed are all the people who curse you. And the one promise for Esau one day, one day your people will break the yoke of your family.

So Jacob, your offspring shall live in the land flowing with milk and honey, the land of Canaan, the land of plenty, where the dew of the heaven drips favorably among you.

But Esau, you shall live in the desert regions, the desert regions away from prosperity, in which he ends up dwelling in the sandstone mountains of Seir.

Yet gleaning from the prosperity of Jacob, you shall serve your brother until you break his yoke. And understand, because when we're reading this, it can almost sound like a curse.

This blessing can almost sound like a curse to Esau. But in reality, Hebrews 11, when we go there, it states that these blessings were given in faith and they find their fulfillment ultimately in Christ.

Jacob only receives the blessing that he has through faith in Jesus Christ and the Messiah who is to come.

We'll get into that. And as you can tell, Isaac's blessing to Jacob actually mimics that of the blessing given from God to Abraham.

And what was that blessing to Abraham? Through his seed, as Paul tells us in Galatians 3, who is

Jesus Christ, all nations on the earth will be blessed. It's hard to reconcile

Esau's blessing as a blessing with the language that's being conveyed with the words away from the dew of the heavens, away from the fatness of the earth.

However, he inherited not the birthright blessing given to Jacob, but what appears to be a scrap blessing.

He still receives something from the dew of the heavens. He gleans from that, which is the prosperity of the house of Israel.

But again, he would live by the sweat of his brow, by his sword. But one day he would break the yoke of his older brother.

So here's the crux of Esau's heart within this blessing. Hebrews 12, 15 through 19 tells us this.

God's word is so, so beautiful that he can detail to us even the hearts of men. This was

Esau's issue. Hebrews 12, 15 through 19. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God, that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble and by it may become defiled, that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like who?

Like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, remember he comes weeping to his father, please just bless me with something.

He was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.

In this we find in Genesis 27, that Esau hated Jacob and Rebecca caught wind of this and told

Jacob to flee until Esau's hate subsided. That's what we're told in Genesis 27.

So 20 years pass, so we're going to the future now. 20 years pass and Jacob is told by the

Lord to flee from his uncle Laban and go back to the land of his father's, okay? So he's not living near the land of his father's, he went somewhere else for 20 years and now he's coming back.

But Jacob in Genesis, he understands that Esau is in that land with his father's.

Remember in the last time he was told about Esau was by his mother who said, he hates you, he wants to kill you, flee, all right?

So Jacob fears going back into the land of his father's because he thinks that Esau's gonna kill him for stealing his birthright.

So Jacob, what does he do? He sends a messenger to Esau and the messenger comes back to Jacob and says that Esau's on his way to meet you with 400 men.

Doesn't give any more context. So Jacob hears that and he's like, I am surely going to die.

Surely I'm going to die, he is going to kill me. What does the scriptures tell us in Genesis? That he goes to the

Lord and he prays that he will find favor in the eyes of God. Later that night, some interesting stuff here.

Later that night, it states that Jacob wrestles with God and when God asks his name,

Jacob replies with his actual name, not Esau. So interestingly enough, when Jacob is receiving the blessing from Isaac, he says he's

Esau. But this time when God comes to meet him, he gives his true name. In this he spoke truth and God blessed

Jacob and renamed him now to Israel. And he said this to him, your name shall no longer be called

Jacob, but Israel for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed. God's blessing is always certain and it is true.

He speaks in the perfect in a sense that you have prevailed even though he's worried for the future.

Jacob then states this, for I have seen God face to face and yet my life has been delivered.

Beautiful thing about scripture, we know it states that no one has ever seen the face of God and lived. That is true.

So how did Jacob see God face to face? Little tangent. Well, John 1 .18 says that no one has ever seen

God, the only unique God, the monogamous Theos who is at the father's side has made him known.

Jacob wrestled with the pre -incarnate Christ who exegetes the father for us. That was Jesus in whom he wrestled with.

It's beautiful. We find the next morning that the sun rises up and as he's passing

Peniel, which I don't even know if I'm saying that right, Peniel, Peniel, he sees

Esau coming in the distance in the horizon. And what actually happens next is quite mind blowing.

And this is happening in Genesis 33. When Esau meets Jacob there, there's actually forgiveness.

This is huge. When you're reading the story, you think there's gonna be some massive battle that occurs.

But listen to this, Genesis 33 .4, but Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him.

And they wept, and they wept. Jacob ultimately responds after he just saw the face of God the night before by stating this in Genesis 33 .10

-11. This is so beautiful. Jacob says this to his brother, for I've seen your face, which is like seeing the face of God and you have accepted me.

Please accept my blessing that is brought to you because God has dealt graciously with me and because I have enough.

Then he urged him and he took it. Here we see the first fulfillment of what

God was saying. He gleaned from Jacob here. At first, Esau didn't wanna take everything that Jacob was going to give him, but he ended up taking it.

God's word is true. But in terms of seeing the face of God, the reason why he says that is because he saw forgiveness in the light of his brother's eyes.

And what did God just say to him? You have striven with God and with man, I'm going to rename you.

He literally just saw the face of God the night before, and he relates to seeing that in Esau the morning after.

It's quite beautiful. It's quite amazing as well to find that Jacob and Esau seemed to have a restored relationship after this encounter because later it states that they even met up again to bury their father,

Isaac, together. But I want you to understand, just because forgiveness had been given, just because forgiveness had been given, over time, generational hatred and jealousy began to take a hold within Edom.

There's still something missing. We can hear that and we can go, well, how did God hate Esau if Esau offered such forgiveness?

It does not mean that he was justified and declared righteous through the blood of Jesus Christ.

He wasn't looking forward to the sacrifice of the Messiah. Was he being pragmatic is the question.

We must understand that for millennia, Edom lived off the gleaning of Israel.

Within these years, they understood that the house of Jacob received the full birthright blessing from Isaac where they received the leftover blessing.

So though Esau may have forgiven his brother over time, over time, that relationship was rocky, right?

Isaac gave that blessing originally in faith, like it says in Hebrews 11, but Esau did not receive his blessing in faith.

Esau wanted the physical earthly blessings of the covenant. He did not care that he lost the blessing of the

Lord. Remember what it says in Hebrews 12, 15 through 17. It's how we reconcile the forgiveness that Esau gave, yet the hate that Edom had grown for Israel throughout the generations.

Listen, Hebrews 12, 15 through 17. Listen to it again. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God, that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and by it, many become defiled.

That no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal.

For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.

So again, even though Esau forgave Jacob, it does not mean that Esau had faith in the

Lord. Instead, we find that Esau is actually the prime example of an unbeliever in the whole testimony of Scripture.

What did it say about him in Hebrews 12? It says he was sexually immoral, and we see that starting in Genesis 26, that he first married pagan

Canaanites, which made life hard for Isaac and Rebekah. This was sexual immorality, and the fruit of his sexual immorality is then shown actually through his genealogy.

So Moses makes mention of his genealogy in Genesis 36. I'd say go read that later.

It's very interesting. And guess who is one of the descendants of Esau? Amalek, the

Amalekites. They hated the Jews, right? Amalekites, they come from Esau.

They come from Edom. In Moses, in his genealogy, if you know your Old Testament history, you know that when

Moses repeats something, it means it's very, very important. He makes mention multiple times that Esau is

Edom. We gotta understand that's very important. All in all, we find that Edom was a nation actually prior to the

Hebrews coming out from Egypt. Here's a brief snapshot of the history of friction between the house of Jacob and that of Esau when the

Hebrews are to come to enter into the promised land, okay? Exodus 17 details

Joshua fighting against the Amalekites at Rephidim after the Exodus from the Egyptians. So right after they come out in the

Exodus, who's ready to fight them in Exodus 17? The Amalekites. Who are the Amalekites descendants of?

Esau. This is not exhaustive, but this is a lot of detail here. We're gonna go over it fairly quickly.

Numbers 20, 14 through 21 details that when the Hebrews were to go to the promised land, they asked to pass through Edom and the

Edomites opposed the passage of the Hebrews by threat of death into the promised land through Edom. Do you see how even though Esau forgave

Jacob over time, there was a root of bitterness that sprung up within them and they hated their brothers.

They hated their brothers. They were related to them. They said, no, you can't pass through Edom. Can't pass through our rocky mountains to get to your promised land.

We'll kill you if you try. Fast forward years later, 1 Samuel 14, 47, it states that Saul delivers the

Israelites from the hands of their enemies, including Moab, which is a neighbor of Edom. Moab, Edom, and the

Amalekites. Saul delivers them out. 2 Samuel 8, 13 through 14 states that King David subdues the

Edomites and makes them his servants. You will serve the younger. The blessing is coming true.

Then in 2 Chronicles chapter 21 through 27, the Edomites revolted during the reign of King Jehoshaphat of Judah.

However, the Lord fought for Judah and defeated them. Then 2 Kings 8, 16 through 22 shows that the

Edomites successfully rebelled against King Jerome of Judah and set up a rule of their own. There we go, they broke the yoke.

They broke the yoke. And then 2 Kings 14, I believe it's 10 through 11 shows that King Amaziah of Judah then defeated the

Edomites and brought them back under rule. And then again, they break the yoke.

2 Chronicles 28, 17 details the Edomites successfully attacking Judah during the reign of King Ahaz. And then they're their nation, they're not the servants anymore, okay?

That's just a brief snapshot of the shaky history between the house of Jacob and that of Esau. Again, we find that God detailed to Rebekah that indeed the life between the two individuals and eventually the nations would be one filled with strife, bitterness, envy, jealousy, and hatred.

Mind you, the house of Jacob was not perfect in the way they dealt with the Edomites either, but God has grace for those in whom he finds mercy.

Jacob, I loved, but Esau have I hated. They were indeed divided.

And all of this bubbled over for centuries until finally the Edomites stood against their brothers and took part in the destruction of Jerusalem with the

Babylonians during the two -year siege which lasted from 588 BC to 568

BC in which the temple was destroyed and the Jews went into exile. And with this,

God poured out his wrath against the Edomites. So going back to verse one, because that's the context in which

Obadiah is written. Verse one again, I'll read it and we're gonna get into the text. The vision of Obadiah.

Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom. We have heard a report from the Lord and a messenger has been sent among the nations.

Rise up, let us rise against her for battle. The Lord God says a messenger has been sent to the nations.

Rise up, let us rise against her for battle. This is an indignation from the God of the universe to the

Edomites. That should be terrifying, absolutely terrifying. For they took advantage of the house of Jacob at its weakest and rode on the wings of powerful

Babylon in order to plunder Jerusalem and hand its refugees over to the slaughter.

God is telling Edom, though you took advantage of Jerusalem through powerful enemies, I am the

God who controls the nations and I will use them to destroy you. I will use them to destroy you.

And they should heed these words. The God of Jacob is also the one who blessed

Esau. So when they hear this indictment against them, they should have repented.

They never did, right? They never did. God then profoundly makes this oracle secure by stating in verse two, behold,

I will make you small among the nations. You shall be utterly despised.

Do you hear it? God will make them. Their future is set. This is given in what is called the prophetic perfect.

This is, there's nothing gonna change this. The counsel of the Lord will stand and nothing will change his mind. In this condemnation,

Edom is cursed in two ways, to be small among the nations and to be decimated in size, to be dishonored among the nations, okay?

Decimated in size and to be dishonored among the nations. These are actually two types of Deuteronomic curses being fulfilled and applied to Edom.

So there's curses and blessings given in the book of Deuteronomy through 28, 29, and in 30, and these two curses that they're facing are actually from that.

So in Deuteronomy 28, Moses gives the prophetic blessings and curses to the nation of Israel. And part of those curses again are decimation and dishonor.

Decimation is shown in Deuteronomy 28, 62, and dishonor in Deuteronomy 28, verses 25, 27, 43 through 44.

And these curses are for disobedience to the Lord who rescued the Israelites from the hands of the

Egyptians. But what we find is interesting is in the context of these blessings and curses, they're specific to Israel, but in Deuteronomy 30, verse seven, we're told this, and the

Lord your God will put all these curses on your foes and enemies who persecuted you. But going back even to the blessing that Jacob or Isaac gave

Jacob, what does it say? I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you.

So do we not find that the God of Israel is faithful even to his promise he made with Jacob?

The God of Israel is so faithful that he was patient with Edom for hundreds of years.

They were storing up wrath until his judgment would be let out.

Remember, cursed be everyone who curses you and blessed be everyone who blesses you. The outset of the prophecy is marked with God speaking in the first person to Edom.

I will make you small among the nations, decimated.

You shall be utterly despised. They would be shamed among the nations.

He does this in many different prophetic oracles of destruction, and this emphasizes that this punishment is sure.

And there's commentators that even say that this has virtually happened already. Imagine if the

Lord said it to you. There's no way out for Edom. They will not repent.

Verses three and four in Obadiah, the pride of your heart has deceived you.

You who live in the clefts of the rock in your lofty dwelling who say in your heart, who will bring me down to the ground?

Though you soar aloft like the eagle, though your nest is set among the stars, from there

I will bring you down, declares the Lord. Understand that Edom was wealthy.

They were powerful because they were positioned in such a way that they were a very successful trade route. In this, they became prideful.

The Edomites lived up high in the clefts of the rock, and they assumed that since their dwelling was in the mountains, that their fortress was secure.

They took faith in earthly protections and not in the living God. Being the offspring of the patriarchs,

Edom, they had no excuse in their pride. The Lord should have been their portion.

They should have feared the true and living God and listened to the blessing of Jacob. And I don't know if you guys have ever done any historical looking at things about, have you ever heard of Petra?

It's a little city that's built within essentially a mountain wall out of the sandstone. If you've seen Indiana Jones, I think it's the last crusade.

They actually go into the ruins of Petra. The ruins of Petra, that was created by the

Nabateans, but before that, that was actually Edom. Before it was Petra, it was in Edom.

So that can give you a good idea of what the actual kingdom of Edom looked like. It's very interesting.

So they took faith in the mountain instead of El Shaddai, the God of the mountain, right? God warned

Esau originally. He said, I will bless those who bless you and curse those who cursed you.

They didn't heed the words of the Lord, which should have echoed through generations.

They became futile in their thinking, claiming to be wise, they became fools and their foolish hearts were darkened.

The truth is this, Psalm 18, two declares this. This is the truth.

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock in whom

I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. And then

Proverbs 30, five through six, we use this all the time when we're doing evangelism out at BYU. Every word of God proves true.

He is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you shall be found a liar.

The rocky mountain fortress of Edom cannot handle the wrath of the

God who made the mountains. That's the truth. They should have listened to the words of God with the curse that if they were to curse

Jacob, they would be cursed because what every word of God proves true, but they didn't, they turned their back on the true and living

God. And then God states what? Though they soar aloft like the eagle, in verse four, with their nest among the stars,

God would tear them down. Their dwelling places were very high up in the mountains.

What do we know? Isaiah 40, verse 31 states, but they who wait for the

Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles.

They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. So what do we find here?

We find what the sure judgment of the Lord, that at this moment, when God is declaring these things to him, he is making a mockery of Edom.

He is mocking them. The eagle represents freedom and strength, free to take to the skies, to find its prey without the weight of the world.

But what is God saying? True freedom and strength comes from him. Idolatry, listen, idolatry will promise you the very same things that only

God can give. And idolatry typically requires some form of self -sacrifice without living up to the promises that the idol made.

An idol is not active, nor is it alive, nor can it bend the decrees of God.

The Bible is very clear on the fact that idols are no gods, and they have to be made alive through human hands.

Even the demonic forces have nothing in and of themselves to uphold their promises to you. In the end, you will suffer apart from God for idolatry.

The nations will suffer apart from God for idolatry, and his wrath will be made known.

The Edomites rejected the words of God, hence denied the protection of God, and thought that their earthly means allowed them to defy the true and living

God without consequence. So much so that verse three states that they said this in their hearts, who will bring me down to the ground?

God replies, I will bring you down to the ground. They have forgotten the

Lord, their God. The God of the universe employs the power of the nations to bring his judgment upon all those who do not heed his warnings.

The cleft of the rock cannot stop the one who created the rocks from nothing. The height of the mountain is not enough to stop the

El Shaddai, the God of the mountain. You cannot run away from the wrath of God. What he says, will he not do it?

If he decreed it, surely it will come to pass. For Edom, their destruction was sure. The one who searches to the ends of the earth to bring his grace upon his people is also the one who stops at nothing, right?

With loving kindness, waiting for all of his people to come to repentance. But will he not also stop at nothing to bring his wrath upon all those who hate him?

There is nowhere you can hide from the wrath of God. Nothing you can do to quench the fire of his wrath.

He will find you, and all will be brought to light before him. The time for Edom has come, and yours will as well.

Are you ready to meet God? Think about that. The Lord is not done though with his condemnation on Edom.

Let's continue. Verse five and verse six. If thieves came to you, if plunderers came by night, how you have been destroyed.

Would they not steal only enough for themselves? If great gatherers came to you, would they not leave gleanings?

How Esau has been pillaged, his treasures sought out. God now right here, he begins his mighty questioning, rhetorical questions, right?

They bid no response, but what they should bring is fear and repentance. The question implies, this is what it implies, that thieves can only steal what they can carry.

And those who harvest grapes can never take it all. There's usually leftovers for those to glean from.

However, in the wrath of God against Edom, there will be nothing left. He says, I will make sure of it.

I will utterly destroy you. The thief will come and take everything away.

Your fields, your produce, all that you have done with your own hands, everything that you think you have achieved apart from God will be taken.

There will be no portion left for you. God will lay them utterly disposed of all they took faith in.

Where is your God, O Edom? He has left you desolate. You should, again, have heeded the warning of God to Esau.

All who curse Jacob, curse the living God, and will in turn face his wrath.

The prophet Malachi prophesied the same thing. Malachi 1, 2 through 5, talking to Edom.

Listen to this. I have loved you, says the Lord. But you say, how have you loved us?

Is not Esau Jacob's brother, declares the Lord? Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated.

I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert. If Edom says, we are shattered, but we will rebuild in the ruins, the

Lord of hosts says, they may build, but I will tear down, and they will be called the wicked country and the people with whom the

Lord is angry forever. Your own eyes shall see this, and you shall say, great is the

Lord beyond the border of Israel. Understand, for Edom there is no hope, no hope.

Malachi, he heightens the depth of the coming judgment on Edom by going back to the beginning of his relationship, right?

God's relationship between Jacob and Esau. Yes, Jerusalem had been laid bare with the destruction of the temple and the

Jews going into exile in 566 BC, but God favored

Jacob through the promise made to Abraham, and one day Jerusalem would be rebuilt. It would be rebuilt in the future, right?

Yet God promises that Edom will never again be what it once was. Their fate was set from the beginning.

Jacob I loved, but Esau have I hated. Verse seven now in Obadiah.

All your allies have driven you to your border. Those at peace with you have deceived you.

They have prevailed against you. Those who eat your bread have set a trap beneath you.

You have no, no understanding. Remember, Edom was wealthy and they were powerful, but they did not have a strong military presence.

They relied on the strength of others and the strength of their own fortress. So during the two -year siege of Jerusalem by Babylon, Edom plundered the southern part of Judah that had been decimated already by Babylon.

Edom rode on the back of the harlot to drink from Jerusalem.

In effect, God cursed them in like fashion of placing another Deuteronomic curse on them.

I was practicing that word at home, Deuteronomic, but for some reason when you get up here and start saying it, you just can't say it anymore. It's so funny.

Deuteronomy 28 verse 29. And you shall grope at noonday as the blind grope in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways, and you shall be only oppressed and robbed continually, and there shall be no one to help you.

God is faithful in his blessings and with his curses. Thus it shall be, the ones that they called allies will turn their backs on Edom and destroy them, and no one will come to the aid of Edom.

They will be mocked, they will be despised. Like Malachi stated, they will be known as what? The wicked country, a laughing stock of the nations, the

Benedict Arnold who gave out his own family at the expense of riches and earthly gain. That's Edom.

Continuing on, let's go to verses eight, nine, and 10. Here's the words of the

Lord in his judgment again. Will I not on that day, declares the Lord, destroy the wise men out of Edom and understanding out of Mount Esau?

And your mighty men shall be dismayed, O Teman, so that every man from Mount Esau will be cut off by slaughter?

Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off forever.

On the day of the coming judgment of Edom, God vows to destroy the wise among them.

In like fashion, again, of those curses from Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy 28, 28 states that God will strike them with madness and blindness and confusion of mind.

Where will the wise man stand in opposition to God? What can he say to quell the wrath of the

Lord? Where can he direct Edom to go to flee the wrath that is to come? Well, he can't.

God will destroy the wise, and continuing into verse nine, not even the mighty men of Teman, which is the offspring, chieftains within the lands of Edom, can stand against the judgment of God.

They too, like the wise man, will be slaughtered. Their end will be one of blood and calamity, and there is nothing they can do about it.

This is all, again, spoken of in the prophetic perfect, meaning that God has stated it like it's already happened.

I want you to hold onto that, so I'll get into that later. This is what will happen to Edom for the things that they have done to Jerusalem.

It is time of trouble. Now God states why he is punishing Edom. He's gonna go into the crimes of Edom, the violent acts that they have committed against their brother.

And remember, their brother, not even a stranger, but their brother Jacob. Now we're gonna get into the crimes Edom committed against Judah here in the following verses.

On 11, verse 11, on the day you stood aloft, aloof, on the day that strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them.

The main theme of the crimes, Edom did nothing as Babylon destroyed the house of Jacob, their brother. In doing nothing, they sinned against God.

It's a feigned moment of neutrality. Numbers 32, 23 condemns the sin of doing nothing in a time in which action should have been committed.

There are times for war. And in this case, like in Numbers 32, Edom ought to have went to war for their brother.

Instead, they allowed foreigners who are unlike themselves to destroy, pillage, and steal their kin.

While in their hearts, they devised a plan to take advantage of Judah. It's wild. And this right here for the

Babylonians, this was but a game for them, right? It says they cast lots for Jerusalem. What does that remind you of?

Did not the Romans cast lots for Christ's garments? They showed absolutely no care for the holy city of Zion.

And God now states that Edom was just like Babylon. Edom was like a whore of Babylon.

A whore of Babylon. Yet one without grace, the whore hated by God, despised and rejected. It's the truth.

Continuing on with the crimes, verses 12, 13, and 14. But do not gloat over the day of your brother in the day of his misfortune.

Do not rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their ruin. Do not boast in the day of distress.

Do not enter the gate of my people in the day of their calamity. Do not gloat over his disaster in the day of his calamity.

Do not loot his wealth in the day of his calamity. Do not stand at the crossroads to cut off his fugitives.

Do not hand over his survivors in the day of distress. Eight different crimes committed against the house of Jacob.

And those are prohibitions here. They're things that you ought not to do. God has a list of their crimes and he's making it known to them that what they did within these circumstances is off limits.

Verse 12, they gloated, rejoiced and boasted in the day of Judah's distress. Verse 13, they entered the gates of God's people, gloated over their disaster and looted the wealth of Jerusalem.

Verse 14, they stood at the crossroads of their brothers as they were fleeing from the Babylonians and handed them over to be prisoners of war.

What a wretched display of hate for your brother. This is in stark contrast to the forgiveness that Esau extended to Jacob in the time of Jacob's calamity, total contrast.

Jacob stated that he had saw the face of God and the forgiveness of his brother. Yet now hundreds of years later, the Edomites will see the face of God in judgment for the heart of Esau and his jealousy of his brother passed down through generation to generation, multiplying, growing and then giving birth to murder.

A root of bitterness sprung up in the heart of Edom. And the list could be longer, right?

There are many other prophets that we could look at in the time permitted. We're just gonna go through a few that spoke against Edom, right?

Jeremiah included, which parallels the condemnation from the first 10 verses of Obadiah. But listen to this,

God has a prophecy of a destruction of Edom and he laid out the crimes of Edom that we can read to this very day.

And the judgment is sure, Esau I have hated. In reality, in the prophetic perfect for all who do not know

God today, in the prophetic perfect, they will face judgment and wrath and stand in condemnation against the house of Jacob if they stand against God and his people.

That is the reality in the prophetic perfect. If we can see a list right now of Edom and the crimes that they committed against God, understand apart from God, you have a list against you.

A list of legal demands. And when you meet God on the day of the

Lord, that book will be open and he will go over your crimes. If he recorded it for Edom, will he not surely do it with you?

How do we pass the judgment of God? In the legal demands that they require. In Colossians it said, he set them aside.

He nailed them to the cross. There's forgiveness in Jesus Christ in Christ alone for that list, that book of, let's say to you somebody,

I'm sorry to use your name, Josh, the book of Josh with his crimes against God. The only way it can be set aside and nailed to the cross is through the blood of Jesus Christ.

But you bet your bottom dollar, what I'm trying to say here, is all those who are in Edom, in Jacob, to this very day in the prophetic perfect will have to stand before God and give an account.

And that list will be very long, my friends. I know my list is massively long. And the only way

I can go through the wrath of God and survive is if I'm clothed and sheltered in the righteous robes of Jesus Christ.

Nothing that I've done. Nothing that I've done. Understand, Edom was destroyed eventually in 553

B .C. by the Nabateans. They ended up inhabiting the caves of Mount Seir.

Petra, again, being one such city that came about during the Nabatean rule. Now this destruction of the

Edomites in 553 was just the beginning. So they became displaced. Remember, I told you where they dwelled was from the point to the south of the

Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba, which then flowed into the Red Sea. That's where they dwelled, right?

But when they were displaced, they went to the land of, I'm probably pronouncing this wrong as well,

Najiv, which is southern part of Judah, southernmost Israel, where they eventually became known as the

Edomians, which is a Greek name for the Edomites. So from 553

B .C. to 135 B .C., what did they do? They tried to rebuild, tried to regain their nation, but what did

God say? I will tear you down each time. They were a laughingstock among the nations. 553

B .C. to 135 B .C., the Edomites were never able to create a nation again. They had lost all ability to recover.

Like Malachi prophesied, try as they may, right? They were unable to do what they once were. And in 135

B .C., they were actually forcibly converted to Judaism at the hands of the high priest at that time,

John Hykranis I, whom Josephus states in his

Book of Antiquities, this is a quote from Josephus, a Jewish historian, that he also took

Dora and Marissa, cities of Edomia, and subdued all the Edomians and permitted them to stay in that country if they would circumcise their genitals and make use of the laws of the

Jews. And they were so desirous of living in the country of their forefathers that they submitted to the use of circumcision and the rest of the

Jewish ways of living, at which time, therefore, this befell them, and they were hereafter no other than Jews.

So they eventually assimilated into Jewish culture here. And understand, again, Jerusalem was rebuilt, right?

The Israelites began to develop power again, which is shown in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. So in 586

B .C., Jerusalem's destroyed and the Israelites are dispersed among the nations. In about 538

B .C., Jews are allowed to enter into Jerusalem and they begin rebuilding the Second Temple, which was completed in 515

B .C. The point I'm trying to make is within 100 years, God blessed the nation of Jerusalem after the destruction, whereas the nation of Edom, they would never be able to rebuild, eventually assimilated back into Jewish culture.

They were never a sovereign state. The same goes with Jerusalem, though, with Israel.

They were not a fully sovereign state. They had to be under the powers at bay. But what's really cool is we find in Mark 3, 7 through 8, it states this.

Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea and a great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem and Edomia and from beyond the

Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon. When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him. So even the

Edomians were of those that followed Jesus. In Christ, they were too to also have grace, to the

Jew first and also to the Greek. But even they could truly break off the yoke through the sacrifice of Christ.

Very cool. What's also very interesting, I believe it's

Herod Antipas. It's noted in the scriptures that he was an Edomian. He was an

Edomite. And Herod Antipas is the one who ordered the destruction of the firstborn. Oh, how the house of Edom was still against Israel, even at that time.

Very interesting. So we know that even some Edomians right now, if we go back to the times of Christ, were following him.

After his death, burial and resurrection, history records that the temple in Jerusalem, the second temple was destroyed in 70

AD. What happened during that time? Well, the Edomians, those who assimilated into Jewish culture actually fought with the

Jews against Rome. They fought against Rome, but eventually they were also utterly destroyed off of the face of the earth.

So in terms of the full prophecy of Edom being destroyed, we find that happening actually in 70

AD because the Romans went down to Southern part and they then destroyed the Edomian culture in its fullness, in its fullness.

But then what else do we know, right? Those who converted to Christ, those who would have seen the abomination of desolation going to the temple and the armies surrounding

Jerusalem, like it states in Matthew 24, what would they have done if they were in Jerusalem, if they believed the words of Christ?

They would have fleed to Pella. They would have fleed to Pella because what? In Christ, what do we know? Book of Colossians, it says there's no

Jew, Greek, barbarian, Scythian, or even Edomian, right?

But those who have been adopted into the sons of God through the blood of Jesus Christ. So we do still have seven verses left within this small but profound vision of Obadiah.

But what we can glean from these first 14 verses, and there is something we can glean, we can learn today, there's application for us today with regards of God's judgment call upon Edom.

One, Jacob and Esau would be the same apart from God's grace. If we were to get out of this lesson right now that the house of Jacob was holy in all of its own personal ways, without God's grace that they were able to rebuild their nation, we would have learned wrong.

The house of Jacob even had its own crimes. They had their own crimes. But God's grace, right, in the coming of the one, the

Messiah, God distinguished his mercy on them. He let his mercy go on them.

There's nothing in and of Jacob that made God want to save him. There was nothing in and of Esau that made

God withhold his grace. There was nothing in and of Esau that made

God want to withhold his grace from him. He just did it. He just did it. He withheld his grace from Esau, gave his grace to Jacob.

Nothing special about Jacob. It was the one who was to come through Jacob. So the house of Jacob apart from God's grace would have been left desolate after the conquest of the

Babylonians. It was purely by God's grace choosing Abraham that Christ would come through. Hence the preservation of a disobedient people for the coming of the

Messiah. And for us as well, what we should understand is that in and of ourselves, there's nothing that makes us better than Esau.

Do you think that there's something inside of you that God made him want to save your soul? There's nothing.

Sorry, my friends, to tell you that. Nothing in and of yourselves that makes you worthy of grace and mercy.

That's why it is grace and mercy to begin with. Grace is unmerited favor and mercy is overlooking the wrongs that we have committed against God, right?

If you think for one second that there is some ounce of pleasure that God found in and of you that separated you from other individuals in which he wanted to save you, again, you're wrong.

Like Romans nine echoes Malachi one. God chose Jacob before anything

Jacob had ever done out of the good pleasure of his will. Therefore, pride should not reign in our mortal bodies.

That is an earthly ambition that seeks to elevate ourselves over other individuals. Ephesians chapter two, right?

You were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you once walked following the course of this world, the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience.

That is both the position of Jacob and Esau apart from the grace of God, dead before the

God of glory. So why were you saved? Romans nine, 15.

I will have mercy on whom I have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. So then it depends not on human will exertion, but on God who has mercy.

Continuing on Romans nine, 17 through 18, I have raised you up that I might show my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.

So then he has mercy on whomever he wills and hardens whomever he wills. What's the application?

This should humble you. This should humble us. God opposes the proud, but gives grace to those who are humble.

And the humble listen to the words of the Lord and they heed them. Proverbs 11, two.

When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. Proverbs 15, 33.

The fear of the Lord teaches a man wisdom and humility comes before honor. Proverbs 18, 12.

Before his downfall, a man's heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.

What did Edom say? Who will take me down from this lofty ground that I stand on? God says, I will bring you down.

Proverbs 29, 23. A man's pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.

Man, that just reminds me even of Isaiah 53 right there. The suffering servant, the

God of the universe, how God had brought him from, he had nothing.

He was born in a manger, right? Man, that's huge. A man that no one would look at and go, oh, that's the

Messiah. It's the truth. So guys, what is the gospel if we don't understand humility?

Oh, wretched man that I am, let me first understand that I am in need of saving, that my salvation depends solely on the perfect, spotless, righteous lamb that was slaughtered for my sins.

The humble God who took on flesh, who knew no sin yet became sin, that we may inherit the righteousness of God.

This, my friends, is the beauty. If you believe in Christ today, you're in the house of Jacob and you have the faith of Abraham.

If you deny the sacrifice of Christ, if you think there's any external righteousness that needs to be added on to the gospel, if you think of Jesus Christ was just a mere good person on this earth, you are in the house of Edom.

In God's prophetic perfect rings true, John chapter five, in the end, he will raise the just and the unjust both.

And they will stand before the great white throne of judgment and either the record of debt that stands against you with its legal demands will be told to you and you will suffer the wrath of God for all eternity, the

God whose wrath will never be quenched. Jesus Christ, where it states in the book of Revelation, his white robe will be up to his knees in the blood of his enemies, that will be you.

But again, if you believe in Christ, the God of the universe, the El Shaddai who took on flesh, who is perfectly obedient to the works of the law where all of us fail, that he was the one coming from Abraham, the

Messiah who was to come to him belongs to nations that he died the death that we deserve.

In all ways, we failed and then conquered the grave was rose from the dead because a grave can't hold a perfect man back.

That man sits at the right hand of the father ruling and reigning the nations today, he is alive.

And if you believe in him, your righteousness is held secure in him. And he sent his spirit to dwell with us who testifies of both the father and the son.

He makes us love him and his word. If that is you, you've passed today from death and into life, hallelujah.

There is no greater power than the love of God. That's the beauty.

Romans nine, six through 13. Listen, for not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel and not are all children of Abraham because they are of his offspring.

But through Isaac shall your offspring be named. This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.

For this is what the promise said. About this time next year, I will return and Sarah shall have a son.

And not only so, but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works, but because of him who calls, she was told the older will serve the younger as it is written,

Jacob, I loved, but Esau, I hated. The glory of the gospel is that though we were once far off, we have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Though I am not a physical descendant of Abraham, I can inherit and be adopted into the family of God through the blood of Jesus Christ.

It's quite amazing. God is building today his kingdom on earth through the Holy Spirit by the power of the gospel.

All who believe in Christ are in Jacob, right? And Esau represents all who rejected the promise of God.

All who oppose God's people will have the same outcome as Edom.

More of this to come next week as we look at the relation of Edom to the nations, but in reality,

Jesus Christ is the author and perfecter of our faith. Today he is ruling and reigning and the increase of his government, there will be no end.

To him will be the obedience of the nations. We as Christians, knowing that Christ is judging the nations we have a responsibility to preach the word to our neighbors and proclaim his name to the ends of the earth so that he will be glorified in the salvation of his people.

For again, he is patient and kind, not wanting any of his people to perish, but for all to come to repentance.

How precious it is to be in the house of Jacob and what solemn terror awaits for those of Esau.

May the Lord have mercy on our souls. God, please humble our nation, let her get off the back of Babylon and ride with the just and almighty

King of heaven and of earth, or destruction looms in the distance. And remember

God is keeping a record of every wrong our nation has committed and he will bring justice in the form of his wrath.

We'll get more into that next week, let's pray. Dear God of glory, maker of heaven and of earth, the just God who has hated lawlessness and has loved righteousness from the beginning.

The nations Lord you stated are like a garment, you will roll them up. You laid the foundations of the earth in the beginning, the heavens are the works of your hands.

Though the nations will be rolled up, Lord, you will remain and stand forever as the true living, mighty, powerful

God. Let our hearts Lord rest in your mercy and your grace.

We love you Lord, because you first found it in your grace and mercy to love us, to give us your son.

By his stripes we are healed. And Lord, he is a powerful and mighty

King who is ruling today and will bring justice to the nations. Have mercy on our souls

God, have mercy on the land that we live in. Let us turn back to the God of our fathers and give you all allegiance and glory.

We love you and praise you in Jesus name, amen. All right guys, so now it's time where we come to the

Lord's table to take communion, to remember what Jesus Christ has done on the cross.